Saturday, January 23, 2016

Lazy Day Salsa

This perfectly scoopable Lazy Day Salsa is a classic tomato salsa that is whipped up in a flash (no chopping required). It is speckled with bits of onion, garlic, and cilantro for extra freshness. This salsa is so easy you can make it in 10 minutes (it takes me 5) . The best part is, you can add it to left over chicken, burgers, casseroles and viola you have the perfect dinner.

I love to add this recipe it to a few pounds of chicken in the crock pot and have the best ever salsa chicken. It is so good that we made it twice this weekend and then made one more batch Monday as a thank you gift.

We eat so much salsa in our house that we could just about live on it. Funny thing is, I never even tried salsa until I moved to Arizona. Boy was that a mistake! As soon as I had my first bite I was hooked.

Now I can not imagine life without it, especially home made salsa. We pretty much serve salsa at every get together, barbecue, pot luck and game night. It is a household staple. So much flavor in such a small package.

I even love salsa on omelets, salads, potatoes and tossed into anything I can think of! Yes, I am an official southwestern gal. LOL

You know if you think about it... Salsa and Italian red sauce start off the same way; tomatoes, onions and garlic. So, maybe it was destiny.

As much as we love homemade salsa, some days there is just not enough time (or energy) to do all the chopping. So, I turned to my well stocked cantry. Perfect for these kind of days. Tomatoes picked at the peak of ripeness and canned to lock in the nutrients just hours after picking.

Not to mention utterly convenient! I look preparing quick and easy meals and often turn to my pantry for help.

Fire roasted tomatoes, diced jalapeno, onion and garlic come together to create a magnificent base for this salsa, but the addition of fresh cilantro and lime juice really take it over the top.

Add onion, jalapeno and garlic to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the bits are your desired size, about 5 or 6 times. Open cover, scrape down sides. Add remaining ingredients, pulse 1 or 2 times to combine.

Transfer to a serving dish and serve immediately or transfer to a pint jar and store in the refrigerator. It becomes even more flavorful the next day. Enjoy!

COOK'S NOTES: Salsa keeps fresh in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.

MILD SALSA: remove the veins and seeds from the jalapeno
UTTERLY MILD SALSA: use 2 tablespoons green chiles
MEDIUM SALSA: Prepare as written
HOT SALSA: Use 2 jalapenos, veins and seeds included

The canned diced jalapenos are packed with citric acid NOT vinegar. Add about 2 tablespoons (canned jalapenos) per 1 fresh jalapeno with seeds and veins (called for in the recipe) . If you want medium-mild, start with 1 tablespoon.

Sure you could do that. It would almost be like an Italian salsa fresca. Of course the cilantro and lime make the difference there. You could also add a few red pepper flakes, chili powder, or green chiles to get more Mexican flavor without so much heat. I have not tested these but am confident they would each be delicious. Start with a small amount and add more a little at a time until it is perfect for your taste buds. Enjoy and let us know how it goes!

This recipe should say - fresh lime juice, not 1/2 fresh lime, juiced. It confused my neighbor when she made it until she just happened to catch your note about the lime juice making the difference. She was going to peel the lime, (squeeze the juice out of it) then throw that squeezed 1/2 lime into the food processor without the juice.

This recipe should say - fresh lime juice, not 1/2 fresh lime, juiced. It confused my neighbor when she made it until she just happened to catch your note about the lime juice making the difference. She was going to peel the lime, (squeeze the juice out of it) then throw that squeezed 1/2 lime into the food processor without the juice.